Pachter: Post-thanksgiving Madden NFL 12 release would “impact” sales

Michael Pachter’s said that a release of Madden NFL 12 release after thanksgiving would “impact” sales of the game.

The Wedbush Morgan’s analyst’s comment comes as the new NFL season is in threat due to a lockout by players over union issues.

“It’s still too early to call, since the lockout is happening in March and Madden launches in August,” Pachter told The Hollywood Reporter.

“That’s a lot of time to fix things, although most commentators don’t sound very optimistic. My guess is that a complete cancellation of the NFL season would cost Madden around 50 percent of sales, and a delay of the season would be far less impactful.

“If the season is only delayed a week or two and fans aren’t alienated, there would be only a very small impact; if delayed through Thanksgiving (when the holiday selling season begins in earnest), the impact would be far greater.”